SEND crisis: A teacher’s perspective (National Education Union)

A teacher writes of the crisis for children with special educational needs or disabilities

“The crisis in SEND funding and SEND support is not just impacting on our SEND students – it is effecting everyone. I struggle to plan engaging, interactive lessons as I have to cater for so many students needs. I know that my middle ability students are crying out for support and my high ability students are not being pushed as much as they could. But I am just one person and I am already working 60+ hours a week just to keep my head above water.”

“The funding cuts haven’t just hit schools. In Stockton it is estimated to be around four to five years for an ASD diagnosis. This is causing significant distress to parents, children and schools who are not able to access appropriate resources and support. For children and families with ASD, even with a diagnosis, the future is bleak as many local authorities have no after-care support as they do not have the funds to run it. So you wait for years for a diagnosis, get given a piece of paper, and then you are left on your own with a fragile young person with no support or guidance of how to support them.”